Middle East

IDF Unveils New Counter-Drone Measures in Classified Knesset Session
IDF Unveils New Counter-Drone Measures in Classified Knesset Session

In a classified follow-up session held this week at the Knesset, representatives of the Israeli military presented a series of operational measures aimed at addressing the growing threat posed by unmanned aerial vehicles, particularly advanced drone systems that have challenged existing defenses. The details, first reported by Galei Tzahal, the ...

U.S. Warns Banks Over Sanctions Risks Linked to Chinese 'Teapot' Refineries
U.S. Warns Banks Over Sanctions Risks Linked to Chinese 'Teapot' Refineries

The United States has issued a fresh warning to global financial institutions over the risks of engaging with independent Chinese oil refineries—known as “teapot” refineries—amid their continued role in processing Iranian crude. In an alert published Tuesday, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said these refineries, largely ...

UAE to Exit OPEC Amid Surging Oil Prices
UAE to Exit OPEC Amid Surging Oil Prices

The United Arab Emirates will withdraw from OPEC and the OPEC+ on May 1, state media reported Tuesday, describing the move as a strategic decision by the major oil producer. "This decision reflects the UAE's long-term strategic and economic vision and evolving energy profile," the official Emirates News Agency said.  The United Arab Emirates ...

Five Sentenced to Life in Bahrain for Plotting 'Terrorist' Acts With Iran
Five Sentenced to Life in Bahrain for Plotting 'Terrorist' Acts With Iran

Five people were sentenced to life in Bahrain on Tuesday for plotting "terrorist and hostile acts" with Iran, which bombarded the tiny Gulf state during the Middle East war. Two Afghans and three Bahrainis were convicted, and a fourth Bahraini was acquitted by the High Criminal Court, the public prosecution said. They were accused of monitoring ...

Why Hezbollah and Israel May Be Betting Against the Lebanon Truce
Op-edWhy Hezbollah and Israel May Be Betting Against the Lebanon Truce

The Lebanon–Israel truce, extended by three weeks last Thursday, is already being put to the test. Escalating military exchanges in southern Lebanon are exposing both its fragility and the complicated political realities surrounding it. Both Israel and Hezbollah appear to see a potential breakdown of the truce as an opportunity to reshuffle the ...

Iraqi President Nominates Ali al-Zaidi as PM-Designate
Iraqi President Nominates Ali al-Zaidi as PM-Designate

Iraq's newly elected president nominated businessman Ali al-Zaidi as the country's prime minister-designate on Monday, after he was endorsed by the country's main Shia alliance. "President Nizar Amede has tasked Ali al-Zaidi, the candidate of the largest parliamentary bloc, with forming the new government," the presidency ...

U.S. Offers $10 Million Reward for Information on Iraqi Militia Leader
U.S. Offers $10 Million Reward for Information on Iraqi Militia Leader

The U.S. Department of State’s Rewards for Justice program has announced a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to the identification or location of Haydar Muzhir Ma’lak al-Sa’idi, a militia leader accused of orchestrating attacks against U.S. and allied targets in the Middle East. In a post published on X , the ...

Lebanese President Aoun Accuses Hezbollah of National 'Betrayal'
Lebanese President Aoun Accuses Hezbollah of National 'Betrayal'

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Monday accused Hezbollah of “betrayal” and openly challenged the group’s decision to take Lebanon to war, asking whether it had secured national consensus before doing so. “Did you have national consensus when you went to war?” Aoun questioned, in a direct message to Hezbollah, as ...